March/April 2016

The months are going by faster and faster as my time here in Cambodia continues. Every month in this country is a blessing for me and every month is a new adventure. God is working here and I know I'm blessed to be present to see the change. It's encouraging to see how the ministry affect the people and pushes us all to grow. It's not easy for all of us to stay encouraged all the time. Especially in the month of March God has been trying to reveal the importance of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who surround us. As Brothers and Sisters in Christ we need to live in unity and encourage each other pushing one another towards Christ. It's been a difficult lesson to put in our hearts but it is such a great and important one. We think God that he works in our life to teach us about what he wants for us. 
At the beginning of the month we had another opportunity to celebrate a birthday of a student named Anoun. I have gotten to know her a bit better than some of the other students. Near the beginning of my trip I visited her house for a few days. She is such a sweetheart and I love her desire to be dedicated to the Lord. For her evening celebration we made a chocolate Oreo cake in hand pop to drink as well as Fellowship. Please pray for her as she continued her journey with Christ. Pray that God would continue to work strongly in her and her families life. We thank God for her presence in the impact she has on other people with God's love. 
Another great time of Fellowship we have enjoyed is game night on Friday evenings. We spent the time altogether as well as boys and girls separated. We've watched movies, play day long but fun game of Monopoly and we also had one night where we did a quizzing session. For quizzing the students try to memorize 66 verses from the Bible over the course of their time here. That night we were able to test their knowledge and have a good time joking around. All of the other Fellowship activities are a joy as well. All of us love spending time together just to talk and get to know each other even more. We're thankful God gives us a time of rest. 
In the month of March we've all been especially blessed to be able to have lots of special food. God has provided for us and given us many chances to eat well! Supporters have been generous in providing finances to bless us with special sweets. We've also had: Khmer noodles, Brahoch ( a type of fish and pills type paste, very good) a few outings for ice cream and one in, as well as a chance to learn how to make any special spring rolls. Sheanghai and I have the opportunity to grab some spring rolls on the way back from the village one day. After we eat then we thought they were so delicious, so the decision was made to learn how to make them. It was definitely an experience to make them and a handful of us had a great time learning. Lastly God provided enough money that my roommate, Sister Sothiya and I could go out and get some American food to let everyone try for dinner one night. We went to the newly-opened Burger King here in Siem Reap and picked up spicy chicken burgers and cheeseburgers. Earlier in the day sister Sreymom help me make potato wedges as well. It was cool to have some classic American food to share with them. After how to eat the food with explained it was still a bit humorous to see the choices of a few of the students, taking the burgers apart eating them a bit like a salad. smile emoticon However, it was still really awesome to share a bit of my culture with them. We think God that he is always faithful to provide for us even beyond what we need. He takes care of his children in many different ways. Thank you is in order for the many supporters who impact in the industry here with their prayers and donations. It's a real blessing and we are all thankful for your part in impacting the people here.
Random activities include: spending time with friends putting on cucumber masks, adventures in The Villages looking around, attendance Morning prayer with the students and spontaneous trips out of the base. Before I had opted out of joining the 6:15 a.m. prayer time because I liked to sleep. However, rest week from the village I decided to attend. It was a blessing to start the day by reading the word of God with them as well as sharing our prayer requests and praises. Adventures in The Villages consists mostly of exploring in The Villages and visiting the families of the students. I especially enjoy exploring the floating village on Thursday. It's such a beautiful area down by the river and we are able to take a walk way up in the trees along the Treetops. Resting, talking and eating rice there is peaceful. This last week it was fun to go and spend the rest of the time in the village on the deck walkway with sister Sheanghai. Sister Sheanghai easily climbed down and up one of the really tall tall trees and another later. Seen her do it so well I really wanted to try too. With some guidance I'm glad I can say I accomplished it. It was a blessing to be surrounded by the nature and feel some peace. Earlier in the month sister Sothiya and I got out of the school for a spontaneous adventure. Sometimes the school can feel a bit like a containment center. So we decided we would just get out and go to someplace outside of Siem Reap. We ended up on Sandy roads behind rice fields in a random Village. It was again so nice to see the nature and receive some stillness and beauty from God's creation. 
One of the biggest things we did last month was have a time of rest, prayer, and confession around Easter time. Easter is not really celebrated here the same as it is in the US. In fact most Khmer people don't really know about the holiday. So we didn't really do anything special that day, but we continued the ministry with the kids. The time we took for fasting and prayer was on a Monday. All of us stop our work and studies and spent the day reading God's word,singing worship songs, fasting, praying, in confessing our sins to God and one another asking for forgiveness. I believe the presence of God was with us as we took time to do that. I also know the devil was trying to work real hard to wedge his work into that day. It was a good experience for us all, we are blessed that we had the time to do that. Please pray for Unity in the school and continued strength and encouragement to be given from our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
In the month of April we have any upcoming events in plans at the school. Please pray for the students and staff as we will be traveling for the celebration of Khmer New Year this week. Please pray for all of our faith to stand strong and that God would give the courage and words to speak about him. Pray for the new term that will be starting after the break. Please pray that God would give us wisdom strength and help to continue to do his ministry and learn. Pray for Sheanghai and Somaly as they will be staying at the base in the south. Pray that their hearts and Minds will be prepared for the change and that God would be the stronghold for their lives. Pray for me as well as I will eventually switch with Somaly. Pray that God would give us peace and work on our hearts. One of the volunteer leaders here went to visit her home for a couple months in February. Please pray for her as she is with her family. Last week please pray for God's continued guidance in our lives in that we would all have a strong desire and Zeal to be in the Lord and work for him in his kingdom.